UCD Law LibGuide Review

The UCD Library Subject Guide for Law is very well laid out and follows the same style and structure as other subject guides making it easy to navigate. The webpage is clearly organised and provides easy access to a Subject Library Specialist whose contact details are posted in an individual text box on the main page. The menu bar also provides access to a range of resources that are available to students, ranging from books, journals, databases, websites, government information, newspapers and statistics. This range of material is more comprehensive than many of the other subject guides on the UCD Library Website. In the individual descriptions of each resource there are some law-specific terms that users from other disciplines may not understand. This is an important distinction because many subjects now have a multi-disciplinary element to them which means it is likely that students from outside the Law Department may need to navigate this particular subject guide. More user-friendly vocabulary would be helpful to such students.

The LibGuide for Law also does not contain the same video guide to using OneSearch that is on other subject guide pages, however, it does provide an external link to more general library user guides. This is disappointing in that a user who is not familiar with library search strategies will have to navigate away from the main subject guide page in order to learn how to use the search engines needed to locate the information and resources that the guide is promoting. This is a feature that could easily be integrated into the current site.

Finally, one element of the guide that I really like is the UCD Law Department Twitter feed which runs at the side of the page. They also compliment this with widgets that link to other social media platforms that they run. Studying a subject is not just about finding information, but is also about contributing to a community of like-minded people. The fact that the Law Department acknowledge and understand this is very encouraging. Advertising these social media platforms also provides more exposure for the department across a much broader range of library users which obviously enhances the profile of the department across the university.